# Things (good or bad) that get to most people don't get to me. What does that mean?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 7, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227 "2008-08-07T22:29:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227/1 "2008-08-07T22:29:23Z")

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I vaguely remember seeing a TV show that dealt with the idea of someone who felt a diminished sense of pain and pleasure to everyone else.

I am that person. Things that other people seem to derive joy from I derive mere contentment… if that. In the other hand I am rarely able to muster any rage at things that I am sure would enrage the average person.

So, any ideas what I might be going through?

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### Author: ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227/2 "2008-08-07T22:52:37Z")

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Apathy?

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### Author: ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227/3 "2008-08-07T23:42:34Z")

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You’re [INTJ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTJ) like I am? Most people seem to attach emotion to a lot more thoughts & events than I do, which often leaves me alone in detachment when it comes to workplace dramas. Although, on the other hand, frustration is one of my most accessable emotions because people refuse to act in sensical ways.

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### Author: ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227/4 "2008-08-07T23:43:55Z")

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Clinical depression often manifests like that. It’s not always the stereotypical weeping all the time in bed with the covers pulled over your head. For me, more often, it’s just numbness to all emotions - positive _or_ negative.

It’s weird and hard to describe, but when I’m in the middle of a depressive episode, I can sometimes be found crying, but I don’t feel sad, or laughing, but I don’t feel happy (or humor). I don’t feel anything at all, while my body keeps on acting as if I did. I’ve been told it’s a form of “compartmentalism”, or mild disassociation.

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### Author: ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227/5 "2008-08-08T00:06:37Z")

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I was going to suggest the same thing as **WhyNot** , so I’ll just second that. Sometimes depression is just your mind disassociating from strong emotions and you find yourself just kind of “going through the motions”.

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### Author: ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2008, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-good-or-bad-that-get-to-most-people-dont-get-to-me-what-does-that-mean/459227/6 "2008-08-08T08:14:30Z")

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Maybe you’re just content. No major highs or lows, just baseline ok. For me, a person of extreme emotions, that’s my life ideal, the goal I constantly work toward. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything’s wrong with you. If you’re satisfied with how you are then I wouldn’t worry about it too much. But if deep down you’re feeling uneasy, maybe it’s worth checking out.
